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There was a ton of great stuff that hit this year for toy collectors, comic fans, and tabletop gamers. Check out some of the best to get and give.
Classic fun
When you talk about fandom, the video game variety is one of the newest. Yes, gaming has been around since the 80s, but comic books, tabletop games, and toys have certainly been out and about for much, much longer. Fans of all of the above are just as rabid as gamers too… sometimes more so.
Let’s take a look at some of our favorites here at BG.
Action figures and more
It’s been an awesome year as far as collector toys go, with stellar inclusions for Star Wars, Transformers, Marvel Legends, and more. Some of what’s come around is still pretty easy to get too, though a few key pieces are decidedly not. And yes, that includes The Mandalorian, unless you want to pre-order one and wait till March. Which you can do.
Nonetheless, there’s some quality giftables still around. Everything in the ‘toy section’ of this gift guide is linked to the Entertainment Earth page for purchase too, so you can click to buy.
Keep in mind though, while we’ve tried to keep this list to all ‘in stock’ merchandise, some of what you’ll see below is definitely threatening to selll out, and still more it scheduled to ship this month. So it’s not technically available just yet, and you’d have to pre-order. You’re kind of taking your chances with that stuff, honestly.
Oh, and of course if you do buy something via a link here, BG will get a little commission from EE on it. (Thanks in advance)
Star Wars
Hasbro’s main Star Wars line is split into two distinctly different series’, that being The Black Series and The Vintage Collection. The Black Series is the one that seems to get all of the attention, but TVC will always have a place in most collector’s hearts thanks to it being cast in the iconic 3.75″ scale.
Both made some nice splashes in 2019 though, with lots of cool stuff. Mainly it was tilted towards the classic film’s era however. So if you’re into the new trilogy there isn’t that much out there to buy that’s new.
That’s just fine with me, since all the cool original trilogy and Mandalorian stuff hit the spot just fine. While some of it has long since sold out, there are a few great items from all of the above that are still hanging around.
- The Vintage Collection Skiff Vehicle – $39.99
- The Vintage Collection Skiff Guard Action Figure 3-Pack – $39.99
- Luke Skywalker Electronic X-Wing Pilot Helmet – $99.99
- The Black Series Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Cal Kestis – $20.99
- The Black Series Archive Biker Scout 6-Inch Action Figure – $21.99
Those are our choices, but there are plenty more Star Wars items in stock at Entertainment Earth. Click here for tons of it.
Marvel
When you’re talking about Marvel Comics goodies, you’re talking about Marvel Legends. Basically anyway. Yes, there’s some great import stuff from Bandai Tamashii Nations and the like, but that’s all skewed towards the higher end.
And to be quite honest, most of it is relatively unnecessary if you want the core Marvel heroes and villains. Hasbro seriously knocks this line out of the park on a regular basis.
There’s a bunch of great Legends stuff in stock right now at EE, including replicas like Captain America’s shield and Iron Man’s helm. Want ‘collector’, non-Hasbro stuff? Aim your browser at almost any Mezco One:12 Collective figure. They’re almost all incredible.
- Marvel Legends Electronic Iron Man Helmet (should be in stock this month) – $109.99
- Marvel Legends Gear Classic Comic Captain America Shield Prop Replica – $99
- 80th anniversary Wolverine and Hulk 6 inch action figures – $59.99
- X-Men Cyclops Classic Version One:12 Collective figure – $100
- 80th Anniversary Iron Man 6 inch action figure – $24.99
While the above are our picks, EE carries a ton more Marvel stuff to suit almost any taste. Click here to check it out.
DC Comics
Unlike Marvel, there isn’t all that much DC Comics stuff out there right now. There’s a lot coming next year, but the present is a little lacking. It’s easy to understand why, with the Mattel line folding and the license moving over to McFarlane in 2020. So there’s not too much in the way of action figures specifically.
Still, there are a few gems from that line to still be had, like the ‘Killer Croc’ wave of figures, and there’s some awesome stuff out there from Mezco and DC Collectibles itself. They regularly produce excellent stuff, and have for years.
If you’re looking for stuff other than traditional action figures, well there’s plenty of that.
- DC Comics Darkseid One:12 Collective Action Figure – $180
- Batman Black and White White Knight Batman by Sean Murphy Statue – $69.99
- DC Essentials The Joker Action Figure – $22.99
- Watchmen Doomsday Clock Rorschach and Mime Action Figure 2-Pack – $44.99
- DC Gallery Justice League Movie Wonder Woman Bracelets Statue – $44.99
The Best of the Rest
If you’re not a fan of the brands above, or just are looking for something a little different, we’ve got a few more suggestions for you. This past year saw the release of stuff like the gigantic Omega Supreme from Transformers, the quirky and fun WWE meets Masters of the Universe line, and some incredible movie and video game-based stuff from NECA.
- Transformers Generations War for Cybertron: Siege Titan Omega Supreme – $159.99
- Karate Kid 1984 All-Valley Karate Championships Tournament Cloth 8-Inch Action Figure 2-Pack – $59.99
- Alien vs Predator Dutch and Lin Arcade Version 7-Inch Scale Action Figure 2-Pack – $44.99
- Predator Ultimate Lasershot Predator 7-Inch Action Figure – $29.99
- Alien and Predator Classics 6-Inch Scale Action Figure Set (scheduled to ship this month) – $29.99
While all of what’s bulleted above has links to EE listings, those aforementioned WWE figures do not. That’s because they’re Walmart exclusives, and hot ones at that. The $14.99 figures seem to blow out of stock almost as fast as the retail giant lists them. So good luck there.
I’d be remiss too, if I didn’t mention NECAs incredible TMNT 2packs (exclusive to Target). Based on the classic cartoon show, these duos are home runs for fans of the 80s Turtles. The Ninja Turtles themselves and Foot Ninjas don’t seem too tough to get ahold of from the line, but good luck again if you want to nab a Bebop and Rocksteady pack. They’re tougher to get ahold of than the WWExMOTUs.
Comics and Tabletop gaming
Aside from gaming, comics are the most covered topic here at BG. We run news about DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, and Valiant on a weekly basis, as well as occasional reviews. The result is some very cool stuff that could be a nice fit under that tree.
The king daddy is that Crisis box set. It’s massive, all-encompassing, and shockingly expensive. For a more modest gift, might we suggest the excellent White Knight, the classic Infinity Gauntlet or Watchmen, or the beginning of IDW’s phenomenal take on the TMNT?
On the flip side, we don’t cover much in the way of tabletop gaming. We do on occasion, if something comes across our desks, but it’s not really our bag. Still, there are a few standout items that we’d like to highlight for fans looking for a cool gift to fit the season.
- Crisis on Infinite Earth’s Box Set – $500
- Batman: White Knight – $17.99 (FYI, this one’s not suitable for kids)
- Infinity Gauntlet: Deluxe Edition – $34.99
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection, Volume 1 – $44.99
- Watchmen 2019 Edition – $49.99 in hardcover (also not for kids)
Chief among those is the Boogie Dice. We reviewed these a while back, and they’re basically self-rolling D6’s. If that’s not cool enough for you, well I don’t know what is.
Other than that, we’ve got an arena combat game set in the Warhammer universe, a CLUE version of D&D, and a little Fake News, a game that has players making up plausible-yet-phony headlines.
If you’re in the mood for a little reading too, we have The Everything Tabletop Book. A who’s who of gaming, this chunky tome runs through some of the most popular titles around.
